Terry Wayne Hammock, who says he has had his name legally changed to “John T. Wayne,” is still insisting that he is the grandson of iconic actor John Wayne. He claims that his father, Billy Gene Hammock, is the illegitimate child of John Wayne. Thus far Mr. Hammock-Wayne has made several claims, but has yet to provide any evidence of any kind to support his claims. After refuting his claims in October 2014 (http://dukefanclub.weebly.com/blog/category/john-waynes-family), he has come back with the following response:
Mr. Tuttle.
The only evidence you have presented proves that you can't add. Dad was born Feb 21st 1935. That makes it May 1934, not June, and even if it had been June, you don't get to write off the entire month of June, as there had to be a start date for the filming, the 15th, 21st or even the 27th? I think you need to go back to math class. And please, do some more digging, because everything I find only proves my heritage.
P.S. I legally changed my name to John T. Wayne only when I became certain of my origins.
By the way, why did Aissa Wayne ask for her share of John Wayne Enterprises after meeting me in 2012?
Why does Maureen O'Hara think I should be part of the family?
Just curious.
According to your own math Mr. Tuttle, Michael Wayne should nave never been born either. It only took a little over a week to film one of those movies. Where was he the rest of the time?
1. Mr. Hammock-Wayne claims his father, Billy Gene Hammock, was the illegitimate son of John Wayne. He states his father was conceived at a party in Hickman, Kentucky, and was born February 21, 1935. Is this even possible?
Answer: The average length of human gestation is 280 days. Counting backward from February 21, 1935, the date of conception would be May 18, 1934. Of course, it is possible that the actual conception date could be a couple of weeks on either side of this date, so the question here is, was John Wayne in Hickman, Kentucky on May 18, 1934, or during any time within say 21 days (three weeks) on either side of that date. This gives us a target range of April 27, 1934 – June 8, 1934.
Based on information contained in trade papers and other documentation from that time period, we know that between November 1933 and December 1934, John Wayne was in the Alabama Hills (an area in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine, in Inyo County, California) and General Grant National Forest (east of Fresno, California) working on motion pictures. During that time period, John Wayne's filming schedule was a follows:
West of the Divide
Filming began November 18, 1933 (per information in the Hollywood Filmograph) and was still filming as of November 23, 1933 (per Film Daily)
Lucky Texan
Filming began November 25, 1933 (Hollywood Filmograph) and completed December 23, 1933 (Film Daily). Filming of Lucky Texan overlapped with the filming of West of the Divide, as sets, props and extras were shared between the two films.
Blue Steel
Filming began March 19, 1934 (Film Daily, Hollywood Filmograph, Hollywood Reporter), and was still filming as of March 31, 1934 (Hollywood Filmograph).
Man From Utah
Began filming March 21, 1934 (Hollywood Filmograph). Filming was still going on as of April 2, 1934 (Hollywood Reporter), and the filming of Man from Utah overlapped with the filming of Blue Steel.
Randy Rides Alone
Filming began April 21, 1934 (Film Daily). Filming was stopped on April 25th due to Wayne becoming ill, but resumed the following day. As of May 1, 1934, filming was still in progress (Film Daily).
Star Packer
Filming began May 8, 1934 (American Film Institute records). Filming was still underway as of May 14, 1934, and completed at the end of May 1934, but with post production in early June 1934 (Hollywood Reporter). Filming of Star Packer overlapped with the filming of Randy Rides Alone.
Also in May 1934, John Wayne signed an eight-picture deal with Monogram Studios. As soon as he finished filming Star Packer, Wayne immediately went on location in the General Grant National Forest.
The Trail Beyond
Filming began at the beginning of June 1934 (Hollywood Reporter), and was still ongoing as of July 21, 1934.
Lawless Frontier
Filming began August 25, 1934 (Hollywood Filmograph) and was still underway as of September 7, 1934.
'Neath the Arizona Skies
Filming began September 8, 1934 (Hollywood Filmograph) and completed September 30, 1934 (Film Daily)
Texas Terror
Filming began November 5, 1934 (Film Daily) and still underway as of November 21, 1934 (Film Daily),
Rainbow Valley
Filming started November 9, 1934 (Film Daily), overlapping with the filming of Texas Terror. Filming was completed in December 1934.
Clearly, during the target period of April 27, 1934 – June 8, 1934, John Wayne was in California, on location, filming motion pictures. Although Mr. Hammock-Wayne insists, “It only took a little over a week to film one of those movies” he doesn't take into account that not only did it clearly take longer than just a little over a week to film one, they were often filmed back to back and with overlapping filming schedules. This allowed for more films to be made in the same space of time.
2. Mr. Hammock-Wayne claims that John Wayne was in Hickman, Kentucky in the Spring of 1934 at a party held by Marsha Morrison, the daughter of Dr. John C. Morrison. He claims that it was at this party that John Wayne had a tryst with Lela Clements, who became Mr. Hammock-Wayne's grandmother. Mr. Hammock-Wayne asks in his most recent comment, “According to your own math Mr. Tuttle, Michael Wayne should nave never been born either. It only took a little over a week to film one of those movies. Where was he the rest of the time?”
Answer: As I answered above, John Wayne was engaged in filming motion pictures, on location, during the time period that Mr. Hammock-Wayne's father was conceived. Mr. Hammock-Wayne believes that somehow, in-between films, John Wayne traveled to Hickman, Kentucky, attended a party, and impregnated Lela Clements. He implies that since John Wayne's son Michael Wayne was conceived, it is therefore probable that his own father was conceived by John Wayne as well.
Let's move from Math to Geography for this answer. The distance from Lone Pine, California where John Wayne was filming, to Los Angeles, California, where John Wayne lived, is approximately 200 miles. Could John Wayne drive home between films to be with his family? Not only could he, he did. The distance between Lone Pine, California and Hickman, Kentucky, however, is 2,000 miles. Could John Wayne travel 2,000 miles, attend a party, and then travel 2,000 miles back – in the space of about a day? In 1934? Mr. Hammock-Wayne theorizes that John Wayne could and did. I find it highly improbable, and likely impossible. And even if it were possible, why would he? This brings us to Mr. Hammock-Wayne's next claim.
3. Mr. Hammock-Wayne claims that his father, Billy Gene Hammock, was delivered by Dr. John C. Morrison, the father of Marsha Morrison, the girl who hosted the party where Billy Gene Hammock was allegedly conceived. Mr. Hammock-Wayne goes on to imply that John Wayne, whose birth name was Marion Morrison, was somehow related to Dr. John C. Morrison, and this is evidence of the cover-up of the illegitimate birth of Billy Gene Hammock.
Answer: I have been a genealogist for almost 40 years, and I, along with another genealogist, have researched John Wayne's family history (located elsewhere on this website). Contrary to the claims of Mr. Hammock-Wayne, neither Marsha Morrison nor her father, Dr. John C. Morrison, is related in any way to John Wayne. So this begs the question, why would John Wayne travel over 2,000 miles, one way, to attend a party of someone he did not know and was not related to? The obvious answer is, he did not.
Mr. Hammock-Wayne has tried to connect the family of Dr. John C. Morrison with the family of Marion “John Wayne” Morrison, and the fact is, he cannot. Morrison is one of the more common names in North America and not all Morrison's are related. Even more specifically, Dr. John C. Morrison is not related to John Wayne.
4. In spite of his other claims being refuted, Mr. Hammock-Wayne still insists that he is the grandson of John Wayne, and he says he can prove it. He claims to have “decided to do some digging” into his ancestry in November 2012, and he claims to have DNA evidence that proves John Wayne was his grandfather. To say that I am skeptical would be an understatement.
Now I admit that I am not an expert in DNA. That being said, however, there are those who are, so I contacted several DNA laboratories and learned that in order to prove what they call “grandparentage,” which in this case would be Mr. Hammock-Wayne's claim to be John Wayne's grandson, a DNA sample would have to be taken from both Mr. Hammock-Wayne and John Wayne. When Mr. Hammock-Wayne “decided to do some digging” back in 2012, John Wayne had already been dead for 33 years. Therefore, acquiring John Wayne's DNA was impossible then and is still impossible.
5. Mr. Hammock-Wayne also states in his most recent comment, “By the way, why did Aissa Wayne ask for her share of John Wayne Enterprises after meeting me in 2012? Why does Maureen O'Hara think I should be part of the family? Just curious.”
Answer: Since I would obviously have no idea why Aissa Wayne and Maureen O'Hara would say or do the things Mr. Hammock is claiming they did, it is equally obvious that his inclusion of these statements are his way of implying that Aissa Wayne and Maureen O'Hara are supporting his claim to be John Wayne's grandson. I contacted a good friend of Maureen O'Hara who has confirmed that Miss O'Hara is not supporting Mr. Hammock-Wayne's claim. I am also confident that Aissa Wayne is also not supporting Mr. Hammock-Wayne's claim.
Mr. Hammock-Wayne has stated, “after writing John Wayne Enterprises and receiving their answer, I am more certain than ever they knew about this in one form or another.” According to Mr. Hammock-Wayne, the response he received from Wayne Enterprises put forth what he was and wasn't allowed to do regarding the use of John Wayne's name and image. Somehow he thinks this constitutes a cover-up of some sort, or perhaps a conspiracy against him. What he does not seem to want to admit is that he is not John Wayne's grandson and he doesn't have any evidence to prove that he is, and that is why Wayne Enterprises is not supporting his claim either!
So there you have it. I have presented evidence, again, that refutes Mr. Hammock-Wayne's claim to be John Wayne's grandson. If he can produce evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he truly is John Wayne's grandson, then I will be more than happy to apologize to him and present his evidence on this website. However, until he does present said evidence to support his claim, it stands refuted and debunked.